Labor of love from Australia - Malachtgrun convertible running restoration

[Mike36]

Lots of good info here, thanks for documenting everything.

[Tzantushka]

Minor update - while you guys are enjoying the nice weather, we have the rain down here.
Which means the windscreen wipers are getting a work-out on our cold winter days.

I was experiencing slow & juddering wipers when using the single sweep & intermittent functions.
When things warmed up and after several sweeps the med & fast settings were OK.

I followed this excellent write-up in the E30 Zone Wiki,
https://www.e30zone.net/e30wiki/inde...n_Wiper_faults

Here are some pics for inspiration.

Linkage was good, but the passenger side spindle (RHD) had seen better days...





Part Number 61611353754 (Damper ring)

Motor & splash shields out for cleaning & inspection...





Yep, inners were gunked with solidified grease from the worm gear...



Some paper towels, electrical contact cleaner & gentle scrub with a toothbrush - all clean.
Replaced the worm drive grease (just used high temp bearing grease I had handy) and a thin smear of dielectric grease on the face of the contact rotor...



Connector was also cleaned-up with the vinegar + salt and water + baking soda solutions (here)...





(Dielectric grease on the pins to help minimise corrosion)
Ready for installation!



Few things I learnt along the way:

• after disconnecting the linkage, loosened the 3 motor mounting bolts and THEN the bracket nuts - the bracket stayed in the cowl, triangular splash shield & wiper motor out through the blower access panel

• dielectric grease for the female connector as well

• I didn't follow the reassembly process & had the wiper arms swipe down toward the engine - make sure you install the linkage at the uppermost sweep position.

• good chance to clean out the cowl & elephant trunk drain (vacuum debris and then soap suds with paintbrush & compressed air

[Tzantushka]

Oh, and also forgot to mention, after 3 and a bit years, was getting a few drips of oil on the floor.
Turns out the rocker cover gasket was tired - tighten-up of the nuts didn't solve it - so it was cover off, clean-up & new gasket / plugs.



Everything was pretty clean & tidy after the head was done in mid-2021.



Cleaned the mating surfaces of the head & rocker cover.
Gave the rubber plugs a thin smear of Permatex ultra black RTV and tightened the rocker cover nuts as per the Bentley manual.



After a few short runs to do errands, everything looks pretty tidy.
Will check gain in a few weeks.

[Tzantushka]

That carpet looks incredible.

Thanks. I was hoping to replicate something the same colour as the door cards (also Duplicolor medium beige) but for some reason it was darker.
It's growing on me though. Will need to take some pics with everything installed and under normal light.

The seat leather is the only thing that's not quite right colorwise, but they are in reasonable condition.
I can live with that for now.

[rjmcdermott81]

That carpet looks incredible.

[Tzantushka]

Where did you get the head unit from? SQR-46, right? Been pondering which to get for my MR2, and its on the list.

Yep, Blaupunkt Bremen SQR.
From memory bought it from Strathfield online (when they had their sale)

[econti]

Where did you get the head unit from? SQR-46, right? Been pondering which to get for my MR2, and its on the list.

[Tzantushka]

Honestly, that's a pretty slick fix.

Always hated this style pin with the moulded end piece they use all over the body.
Pain in the ass to replace to because you can only buy replacements as a pigtail, and I think straight and in green?

Thanks - if the connector is fine and the rubber insulation is stuffed, I don't like spending $$ to replace something else.

Meanwhile, in other activities - gave the carpets an out-of-car deep clean.
Has been on the list of things to do for a while, but needed a good run of warm weather to properly dry the carpet as the foam is moulded to the carpet.

Pressure washer & scrub, repaired some of the flaking rubber backing & foam.





Floorpan was in remarkably good shape - also gave the floorpan a coating of Penetrol for protection in case of moisture ingress...





Stuck with the Duplicolor Medium beige used for door cards & kick panel...



Light coats in a cross-hatch pattern & agitate the carpet nap to retain the fluffiness.
Turned out darker than expected.



But still a marked improvement from the faded carpet.





Also a good opportunity to install the DAB antenna for the Bremen head unit.
And also run a new FM / AM antenna cable, as the OEM cable had been cut & poorly spliced from a previous life.
Was able to buy a complete cable with the Hirtschmann connector - so the reception is now 10x better.

For our Australian viewers can buy them here from Sound Labs

[Northern]

Honestly, that's a pretty slick fix.

Always hated this style pin with the moulded end piece they use all over the body.
Pain in the ass to replace to because you can only buy replacements as a pigtail, and I think straight and in green?

[Tzantushka]

I like your project…

Thanks - keeps the mind working!

Also fixed the recurring cooling check control panel light.
Had nothing to do with the sensor or the panel.

The plug housing kept coming loose from the sensor - because of:



Crumbling rubber insulation around the connector buckets



Managed to fix that with a few wraps of insulation tape and then a sheath of 4:1 heat shrink tube.




Now the connector buckets are nice and snug in the plug housing and the plug stays put.

[e30m3s54turbo]

I like your project…

[Tzantushka]

And a few more recent trips

[Tzantushka]

Pleased to say not a lot going on with the E30 over the Australian winter.
Was having some false failures pop up on the check control display (brake / tail / number plate) when everything was working OK with the right bulbs.
Replaced the bulb check module that detects the rear light circuits and everything seems fine now.





Also adjusted & lubricated the rear window while the trim panel was off.

Apart from that, lots of day trips, touring and errands...
Warning - photo dump ahead...

[Tzantushka]

Turning left into the hardware store driveway last weekend there was this almighty metallic THUNK noise.
Have had that noise before when the rear anti-roll bar (swaybar) came loose from the endlink / drop link on the LH side.
Sure enough, same problem.



Decided to put a stop to this once and for all.
- Jacked up the back of the car from the diff
- Removed the LH road wheel
- Pressed the swaybar link back on (with a clamp & socket + extension through the coil spring)







Then picked up a 12mm shaft ring to keep it on there (for our Australian readers = Bunnings)



Pressed that on with an 18mm socket & extension.
Perfect.



That should keep the sway bar link from popping off the the drop link / endlink.

[Tzantushka]

Well not much to report.
Happy to say I am driving the hell out of the car.
Road trips and weekends away this car is great.

Only major maintenance was getting the inner & outer CV boots changed. After 34+ years they were tired.
Thankfully I outsourced that to a workshop...